Truck body construction



12, i935. Mfr. ZEIGLER 1,994,160

TRUCK BODY CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 24, 1952 5 sheetsrsheet 1 Mm. En.

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March l2, 1935. M. T. zElGLER '1,994,160

TRUCK BODY CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 24, 1952 s sheets-sheet` s IVVENTDR M Z ZEIELER EYE/WM Y 22.7221 UJPNEyi marily designed to transport a series of more or kept cool.

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AUNITEI) sTATEs PATENT oFFica A Tanon nonr ooNsrnUc'noN Maxwell T. Zeigler,l lHuntington Park, Calif., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Zeigler Packaged Ice Machinery Corporation, Huntington Park, Calif., a corporation of California Application February 24.1932, serial No. 594,913

s claims. (ci. 31a-35) This invention relates to improvements in a construction in which individual packages of truck body constructions. ice are supported `in such a manner as to enable An object of the invention is to provide an imfree circulation of cold air Iaroundeach package proved truck' body construction which'is priso that each package 'is individually cooled or If the packag are closely 'packed 5 lessA uniformly sized packages or-articles. thel together on all sides, only the outer packages of construction being-such as to facilitate removal a group will be kept suillciently cool to prevent of one or more of the packages or articles in or retard melting. By having the'packages supmaking deliveries. n ported in such a manner that there is a free It is now'being the practice to market ice in circulation of cold air around each package, each packaged form, that is the three hundred pound individual package will be kept at thel desired blocksof ice asdelivered from the freezing cans temperature. S K are cut up into small blocks, these usually being With the foregoing and other objects in view, in the neighborhood of twenty-five pounds, and f which will be made manifest in the following wrapped in heavy kraft paper. These packages detailed description, and specifically pointed out of ice are sold in vending machines which are in the appended claims, reference is had to the regularly serviced lfrom the refrigerating plant accompanying drawings for an illustrative emand frequently individual deliveries .of these bodiment of the invention, whereinz' packages of iceare made. The improved truck Fig.1 is a longitudinal vertical section through body construction has been 'primarily designed.N the truck body embodying the invention. y to handle these packages4 of ice in transporting Fig. 2 is a partial view in vertical section taken them from the refrigerating plant to the vendsubstantially upon the line 2-2 upon Figure 1. ing machines. It maybe advantageously em- Figu3 is a partial view in vertical section takenl ployed for this purpose and also for the purpose substantially upon the line 3-3 upon Figure 2. of making individual deliveries. One object of Fig. 4 is aI view in elevation of the rear end o the invention iskto provide atruck body constructhe truck body construction. ltion 'in which the interior vof the body is divided f Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one' oi the Vshoes into a plurality of parallel runways, each runemployed in the construction., Way being designed to receive a row of ice pack- Referring to the accompanying drawings, ages or equivalent articles, the design being such wherein similar reference charactersy designate as to enable easy loading of the truck and easy similar parts throughout, the chassis of the truck unloading.- 'In 'unloading 'the truck the design may -be of any conventional design. The body is such as to enable a complete row of packages of the truck mounted on Ythe chassis has a ,top to be removed from a runway, the packages bewall 10, a bottom wall 11, a front wall 12, and ing removedconsecutively, or one package at a. side walls 13 and 14. The construction of these time can be removed from the runway in making walls 'may be of any preferred design, however, individual deliveries. they preferably lhave an interior metal lining as vAnother object of the invention lato provide indicated at i5 and an exteriory metal covering a construction of truck body in which each kof the as indicated at 16. Between the lining and the packages is so supported 'that during its movecovering there is preferably ample insulating mament inthe runway abrasion of the wrapping paterialto insulate the interior of the body against per wrapper is effectively prevented. When the the heat of the atmosphere. lThe rear wall of wrapper is wrapped about icel so that there is a thetruck Ibody is provided by a vertical central tendency for the wrapper to moisten, the ability iamb l'l and horizontal jambs`18 connecting the of the construction to handlethe package withvertical central jamb to th side walls 13 and 14. out danger of abrading thewrapper is important. Doors 20 are preferably hinged to the side walls Another object of the invention is to provide ,aS by hinges 21 and have latches as indicated at Y' a truck body construction having the above men- 22 which fasten them in closedpositions. These body at a suiciently low temperature so that the rear wall "tioned characteristics and which ya suitable doors cooperate with the vertical central lamb cooling means for preserving the interior of the and with the horizontal jambs in providing a for the body. on botnsides of the ice will not melt and soak up the paper wrappers, vertical central jamb 17I and within the body Y this ign being such esto economically use all there are a series of rows of longitudinal uprights' oi tleu available space withinthe truck body. `01' DOStS '23. These are preferably metal rods f l Another object of the invention is to provide vhaving their lower ends welded or otherwise se- 5e right wall 32.

bent downwardly to engage the horizontal flanges cured to longitudinally extending runners or bases formed of strap iron as indicated at 24. 'Transverse connecting bars 25 connect the up- -rlghts and are secured thereto as by welding,

these connecting bars being arranged in horizontal alignment with the jambs 18. Longitudinal connecting members 26 and 27 also connect theuprights 23 and extend longitudinally ofthe body. The interior space on each side of the vertical central jamb A17 is thus divided into a plurality of parallel runways 28. While the longitudinal connecting members 26 near the upper corners of each runway are straight and flat, the

longitudinal connecting members 27 which are located near the lower corners of each runway are angular in cross section, providing rails which extend along the runways serving to guide the articles or packages placed therein. Channels 30 are mounted on the transverse connectingv members 25 between theA rails formed by the angular connecting members 27. In each runway at its forward end there is a shoe, as shown in Figure 5, having a bottom 3l and a forward up- The side edges of the bottom are of the angular connecting members 27. A towing memberi in the form' of a flexible leather strap 33 is secured to the under side of the Lbottom of the shoe and preferably at regular intervals along the strap sections of metallic belt lacing are secured, such as those indicated `at 34. The leather strap and the rails are preferably paraiined, the parailln being employed as a lubricant facilitating the sliding of the shoe on the rails and the movement of the strap 33 in the channels under the low temperature normally maintained within the body. 'Ifhe packages or articles to be transported, such as for example the packages of ice illustrated,` are arranged in rows within their respective runways. 'I'he foremost Ipackage of each row is positioned on the shoe winch, when thetruck is fully loaded, is at the forward end of its runway. The towing members or straps 33 fit within the channels beneath each row. As' clearly shown upon the drawings, the straps are of sufcient thickness so as to support the conditions. however, the truckI bodv may be onv an incline so that the packages have atendency to lean against the longitudinal members.'y However, under these abnormal conditions the abrasion on the paper wrappers is very slight.

In order to maintain the desired low temperature within the truck body a cooling tank 35 is disposed centrally of the truck bodyV behind the vertical central lamb 17. This cooling tank is.

preferably of corrugated sheet metal for purposes of strengthand is designed to contain cold brine. Aninlet and an outlet for the'cooling tank are'indicated at aevand '37 respectively.

these having valves 38 and 39. Inlet 36 has a pipe connectionto the lower forward cornerl of runways.

tlie tank andy outlet 37 has a pipe connectionwith the upper rear corner of the tank. In this manner cold brine can be circulated through the cooling tank when the truck is being loaded at theA from the lower forward corner to the'upper rear corner, the tank is eiectively purged of any air which it may contain. Due to the low temperature, moisture collects on the tank in the course of time and at intervals it becomes necessary to defrost this tank. During this defrosting the,

frost melts and the water collects on the bottom Vof the body. As the` bottom slopes forwardly,

this water will ilow to the forward end of the body from which it can pass through an outlet pipe 42. This outlet pipe has two reverse bends forming a water trap as indicated at 43 so that, although the water can escape from the truck body as it collects, warm air cannot enter the body through the outlet-pipe 42.

Suitabiecover naps, 'preferably in the form of heavy canvas aps, indicated at 44, are secured to the inner sides of the horizontal lambs-18. 'I'hese cover flaps are suspended over the rear ends oi the runways 28, there being one cover flap for each individual runway.

At the refrigerating plant it. is customary to handle the packages of ice on ,conveyorsand by this arrangement thepackages `can be transmitted directly intov the runways from'the conveyors. The foremost package is positioned on the shoe and as additional packages in any one runway are fed into the runway the shoe is moved forwardly. When the runways are completely lled the cover iiaps 44 are allowed to hang down over their rear endsl and' the.doors are closed. In

servicing a vending machine a door can be opened, each door being shown as opening three 'I'he cover flap of one runway can lbe lifted Jand the packages consecutively removed from it. These can be removed by pulling the shoe rearwardly by the towing member 33. While 'one runway is being exhausted, the cover ilaps of the remaining two exposed runways are allowed to hang down to preserve the low temperature as much as possible within the truck body. While the cover flap of the mentioned runway is being lifted and a packageis being withdrawn, the' package effectively blocks the entrance to its runway so that the remaining cover flaps covering the remaining runways cooperate with the package in the entrance to the runway being exhausted informing a barrier preventing ingress of warm air even though the door is opened. Whenever the package is removed from its entrance to the runway, the cover flap immediately falls back into its suspended position tiriY cover the entrance to the runway and prevent this ingress of warm air. The runways can be consecutivelyremptied in servicing the vending machine and in the event that the truck is used for making individual deliveries the packages can be removed individually.

By the improved construction it will be appreciated that the packages of icecan beconvenientlyhandled and transported. The construction is such as to maintain the desired low temperature within the truck body. thus keeping the individual blocks of ice from melting. "I 'heperntor never has occasion to enter the truck but may remove the entire contents from the rear. The tail gate on This brine is delivered through which he may stand in emptying or loading the truck is indicated at 46 and in place of this a foldable step may be employed if desired.

tion to'each other to enable a free circulation of cold air throughout the interior of the .truck body so that each package is individually cooled by the cool air circulating from the brine tank. The packages are supported upon the belts or straps 33, these straps constituting the primary supports for the packages and, being relatively narrow as compared withthel size of the package, they do not interfere with this circulation of cold air. Furthermore as the packages do not slide on the straps but` are carried by them danger of wearing through or tearing the wrappers is avoided.

While loading of the truck is taking place, the brine can be circulated through the brine tank by attachment of hoses 40 and 4l, these leading from the source of cold brine in the refrigerating plant. In use of the truck it is customary to attach these hoses to the brine tank at the start of the loading operation. At night it is customary to load the truck and allow brine circulation to take place all night to reduce the interior temperature te the lowest point possible. 'Ihe following morning the truck driver can immediately v proceed with his truck fully loaded and in a cool condition on merely detaching the hoses.

I iind that the use of the truck is such as to en'- able dispensing with the help of one mans services entirely in that the driver can easily load and unload without the assistance of a helper. From time tottime it may be necessary to replace the insulation `or to replace the liningfor the truck. This can be easily accomplished by taking out the rear horizontal Jambs and leaving the doors open. The frames formed by the postsl or uprights and the connecting members can each be withdrawn' as an entirety through the openings on both sides of the vertical centraly iamb. vThereafter the lining can be detached' from the insulation and removed in sections, that is the side wall sections of the lining can be de- V tached from the insulation, tilted slightly, and

removed. The same is true of the top and front wall of the lining. The insulation can be replaced WV and the lining either replaced or reinstalled, after The rows of packages are held in spaced rela-v scope of. the invention as deiined'by the appended claims. A

1.\A truck body construction having top. bottom, and side walls, means dividing the interior space into a plurality of runways, a channel in each runway extending substantially the complete length thereof, and a flexible tow strap slidable in each channel extending substantially the complete length thereof and projecting above the sides of the" channel so that articles placed in the runways will be supported upon the tow straps above the sides of the channels.

2. A truck body construction having t0?. bottom, and side walls, means dividing .the interior space into a plurality of runways, a channel in each runway extending substantially the complete length thereof, a flexible tow strap slidable in each channel extending substantially the complete length thereof and projecting above the sides of the channel so that articles placed in the runways will be supported upon the tow straps above the sides of the channels, and a shoe at one end ofthe tow strap.

3. A truckbody construction having top, bottom, and sidewalls, means dividing the interior space intoa plurality of runways, a channel in each runway extending substantially the complete length thereof, and a ilexible tow 'strap slidable in eachfchannel extending substantially the completelength thereof and projecting above the sides of the channel so that articles placed in -the runways will be supported upon the tow straps above the sides 'or the channels, guides at the v sides of the channels, and a shoe secured to one end of each tow 4strap having portions engageable with the guides. u

MAXWEIL T. ZEIGLER. 

